Not word-for-word literalism — that produces a corpse, not a text. True fidelity is loyalty to the novel’s intention : its rhythm, its silences, its scars. When García Márquez read the English translation of One Hundred Years of Solitude , he said it was better than his original. That is not hyperbole. It is recognition that a great translator (in that case, Gregory Rabassa) understood the soul beneath the syntax. The perfect translation makes the author nod, not because every word matches, but because every wound matches.
Essay: The Art of Cultural and Linguistic Translation in "El Futuro Perfecto" perfecto translation novel top
Translation perfection is audible. Read the first paragraph of the English translation aloud. Does it flow like natural English? Or does the word order feel awkwardly foreign (e.g., "To the house went she")? If it sounds forced, put it down. Not word-for-word literalism — that produces a corpse,